Pilots and their planes, vintage and modern, descended on Lake Simcoe Regional Airport in Oro-Medonte today for a meet-and-greet with dignitaries, event sponsors and the media ahead of this weekend's 2024 Barrie Airshow.
It’s a special year for aviation in Canada as it is the 100th year of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
The iconic Snowbirds aerobatic team will headline this year's event again, led by Wyevale native Maj. Brent Handy, the team lead pilot in the team's No. 1 plane.
It’s his first year as the team lead.
“It’s a milestone year for the RCAF,” Handy told BarrieToday as he stood next to his jet plane on the tarmac under sunny skies Friday. “It’s amazing how far aviation has come in a short 100 years.
"We’ve gone from airplanes made of fabric, which were quite dangerous, to the cutting edge of performance flying at Mach 2,” he added.
Being a pilot and flying in the military was always in his mind as a kid growing up in Wyvale, which is located in the Midland area, about 35 minutes north of Barrie.
“It was a pretty lofty goal and, frankly, it was something I never thought I would actually achieve, but I guess my message to the young folks is don’t worry about how big your goal is," Handy said. "Just take little baby steps and you’ll never know where you’ll end up."
Also on hand was pilot Shawn Clish, a 20-year flier piloting a PT-26 Cornell, which is operated by the Edenvale Classic Aircraft Foundation at the Canadian Air and Space Museum, (CASM) at the nearby Edenvale Aerodrome, located west of Barrie on Highway 26.
They have three planes taking part in the show, including a classic Canadian-built Tiger Moth.
The two planes are the oldest in the show, both built in 1943 and used as Second World War basic trainers.
Clish’s Cornell is relatively slow at around 150 kilometres per hour, but that’s OK with him.
“You can put your arms out, with the hood back, and just enjoy the ride,” he told BarrieToday at the event.
His favourite part of flying this particular kind of airplane?
“The freedom. It’s beautiful,” Clish said. “Looking down at all those suckers stuck in traffic … and you get the feeling of the wind in your hair.”
As a local museum, Clish says there's an urgent need for support from the local community.
“You can join and be a member, and take rides in any of the aircraft that are performing this weekend,” he said. “We have a booth at Heritage Park on the waterfront at the show. We just need the local community to know that we are here, and if you like airplanes, support us.”
Tonight, according to organizers, spectators will see 200 drones over Kempenfelt Bay come together to create colourful imagery in the night sky.
The show was specifically created for the Barrie Airshow, with the theme being the 100th year of the RCAF.
The show runs from 8-10 p.m.
On Saturday, the airshow events in downtown Barrie at Heritage Park run from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The airshow itself begins at 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
For more information and a schedule of events related to the air show, click here.
